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Bolin: NHL Week 1 Power Poll

Eric W. Bolin has been a sports reporter for the Times Record since October 2012. He covers sports, focusing on Northside High School. A native of Stilwell, Okla., Eric came to Fort Smith after working three years at ESPN. He is a graduate of Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Okla., and holds a bachelor's degree in mass communication.

The National Hockey League season is officially one week old. The storylines are already coming into focus and, hey, wouldn’t you know it, the league gained a bit of mainstream recognition.

Patrick Roy will do that.

There are a couple of, um, major jumps, let’s say, in this week’s rankings compared to last week’s. Most notably, Mr. Roy’s Avalanche.

Here are your Tuesday rankings.

NHL Week 1 Power Poll

30. Flames (30) — The Flames showed they were in rebuilding mode this year. They all but admitted it over the summer, too. Good for them, they also showed some talent and grit. No lying down in Calgary.

29. Devils (29) — Everyone figured New Jersey would have issues scoring goals. Apparently it has issues in giving them up, too. Twelve through three isn’t what Lou Lamoriello counted on when teaming Martin Brodeur and Cory Schneider.

28. Predators (23) — Tough to drop Nashville this far considering both the team’s losses came against teams in the top six of this week’s rankings. I’m still not sure who is going to put the puck in the net, though.

27. Panthers (27) — The good news is Aleksander Barkov became the youngest player to score in the NHL since World War I and the Panthers won their season opener. The bad news is they lost their second game, 7-0.

26. Flyers (14) — Philadelphia is so bad it fired its coach after two games. The end.

25. Sabres (26) — It’s a shame the Sabres don’t have a win yet. Two absolutely masterful performances from Ryan Miller have gone for nothing. It’s likely going to be a long season in upstate New York.

24. Hurricanes (22) — Cam Ward looks fantastic in net so far. Carolina held its own with Detroit in the opener and slipped past a bad Flyers team in the second game. The team’s next six games, though? Pens, Caps, Kings, Yotes, Blackhawks, Leafs. Yowza.

23.Oilers (25) — For the second straight year the Oilers are maybe the most fun team in the NHL to watch. Monday night’s three-goal comeback against New Jersey the latest example. But the Taylor Hall-at-center experiment was ugly and Devan Dubnyk is curious in net.

22. Lightning (24) — A win over Chicago on the road will boost you a couple spots regardless of how the rest of your week played. When the other result is a two-goal loss to the Bruins, there’s nothing of which to be ashamed.

21. Coyotes (17) — A pair of 4-1 results - one win, one loss - tell us almost nothing about where Phoenix is headed this season. Seems like they’ll linger from low 20s to high teens all year.

20. Wild (15) — It seems like a far fall for the Wild, and it is, I guess. But it’s more to do with teams looking stronger than the Wild looking so much worse. Both losses were by one goal each and they came against the two Pacific Division favorites.

19. Stars (19) — Stalemate. A loss to the Panthers didn’t do a lot to inspire confidence, even if Tim Thomas was in goal for Florida. A resounding win against Washington, however, was just as impressive as the loss was damning.

18. Blue Jackets (18) — Sergei Bobrovsky probably isn’t winning another Vezina Trophy this year. Not after allowing four goals to the Flames, anyway. Still, the team hasn’t played all that poorly in two games.

17. Islanders (16) — They lost to the team ranked one spot below (or above?) them and beat the lowly Devils by a single goal. Ho-hum. Things are brewing on the Island, though.

16. Canadiens (12) — The Habs were thoroughly outplayed in NHL season opener but managed to lose by just a single goal. If Carey Price can play like that all season, maybe the Canadiens can get back to the postseason in the rugged East.

15. Capitals (8) — Alex Ovechkin looks like he’s in MVP form. The team can score goals, no problem. But a 1-2 record, no matter how many goals you can score, isn’t what’s needed after the first week. Especially with games against Dallas and Calgary in the opening five days.

14. Canucks (20) — I’m not hopping any sort of Canucks bandwagon here. I think Roberto Luongo has been iffy in goal. I’m not sure what kind of secondary scoring Vancouver has. And I’m not convinced they’re an elite team anymore. They beat Calgary and Edmonton this week, though. It’s kind of a hollow jump in rankings.

13. Ducks (9) — Anaheim won two and lost one in the opening week and fell four spots. The Ducks simply weren’t that impressive. Colorado manhandled them in the opener and a pair of one-goal wins against mid-tier teams leaves something to be desired.

12. Jets (24) — Yes, I just called the Jets mid-tier and put them ahead of a team that beat them last week. But, man, they are so much better than I thought. Mark Schiefele looks like he finally belongs in the NHL and Ondrej Pavelec isn’t a half-bad goaltender. Can the blue line keep it up?

11. Rangers (7) — A rough looking loss against Phoenix is outdone by an outclassing of Los Angeles. There are so many pieces in New York, it’s ridiculous. The Rangers drop four spots, but like the Wild above, it’s less to do with the themselves than others.

10. Kings (5) — Los Angeles lost to New York. Yes, I know. It was a weird game with the most…interestingly scored goal of the season. The Kings are going to do what the Kings do: be average until Christmas, get a little better, and dominate when spring comes. We’ve seen this before.

9. Senators (10) — Paul Maclean’s bunch has done nothing to embarrass itself through two games. Craig Anderson stopped 35 shots in a shutout against Buffalo then the team lost in a shootout to their Ontarian brethren. No harm done.

8. Red Wings (4) — The three-goal loss to the Bruins to end the week 2-1 is the least of my worries, which, should be noted, are few. They are there, though. Wings didn’t put away Buffalo nor Carolina like they should have.

7. Avalanche (28) — Consider crow devoured. If Edmonton isn’t the most fun team to watch, then it’s gotta Patrick Roy’s Avs. His opening night blowout was the stuff of legend and his team is playing crazy good hockey. Nathan MacKinnon is the real deal. The league is better when the Avalanche are good. Watch out.

6. Sharks (11) — I’m not convinced the window is open any longer than I predicted, but Antti Niemi (note: no one mentions Niemi among the league’s best goaltenders, including me. We do him a disservice) can keep the Sharks in any game. It’s not like they can’t score, either.

5. Maple Leafs (13) — There are Randy Carlyle haters and Randy Carlyle lovers. Count me among the latter. I think Carlyle gets the absolute most out of his team. The Leafs have more talent than last year and he’s maximizing it to the tune of a 3-0 start.

4. Penguins (3) — The Flower — Marc-Andre Fleury — looks like the goaltender who won a Stanley Cup just a few short seasons ago, not the guy who tanked in the postseason last year and lost his job to 37-year-old. Everyone knows Pittsburgh can score, but if they’re keeping the puck out, too …

3. Blues (6) — Goaltending questions abound, still. It doesn’t seem to matter. A 7-0 shellacking of Florida is mighty impressive, as was a 4-2 win against Nashville. How about two games with Chicago in the next four, though? Talk about a test.

2. Blackhawks (1) — Yeah, Chicago lost in a shootout to Tampa Bay. No big deal, frankly. A loss here or there is acceptable. That said, many more against mediocre competition and the rankings will have to reflect it.

1. Bruins (2) — By virtue of the pure undressing of the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday, Boston takes the top spot. The Bruins are hockey excellence.